More NBA games off as teams can't field 8 men

LOS ANGELES • Game postponements were piling up on Wednesday as the National Basketball Association's (NBA) measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus left teams with too few players to take the court.

The league said on Wednesday evening that a pair of games today - Washington at Detroit and Golden State at Phoenix - had been postponed because contact tracing within the Wizards and Suns meant the teams would not have the league-required eight available players.

The league had earlier postponed the Suns' scheduled clash against the Atlanta Hawks, one of three contests originally set for Wednesday that had to be called off.

Nine games have now been scratched as the season, which has been shortened to 72 games per team, heads into its fourth week.

The league and its players union updated Covid-19 health and safety protocols on Tuesday aimed at keeping players healthy and available to play.

The new measures were imposed "in response to the surge of Covid-19 cases across the country and an uptick among NBA teams requiring potential player quarantines", a league statement said.

On Wednesday, the league released its latest Covid-19 test figures, saying that of 497 players tested since Jan 6, 16 had returned confirmed positive results.

For at least the next two weeks, players and team staff are required to remain at their residence at all times when the side are at home, except to attend team-related activities, exercise outside or perform essential activities, except in extraordinary circumstances.

Those beefed-up protocols have attracted criticism from some players, with Oklahoma City Thunder guard George Hill questioning the restrictions now being enforced which limit contacts and movement during road trips.

"I'm a grown man. I'm gonna do what I want to do," he said after the Thunder's 112-102 loss to San Antonio. "If I want to go see my family, I'm going to go see my family. They can't tell me I have to stay in a room 24/7. If it's that serious, then maybe we shouldn't be playing."

The NBA also sent a memo to all teams stating that it hopes to add polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for the coronavirus that can be processed on the day of every game in all 28 NBA cities, ESPN reported on Wednesday night.

The plan would see all players on each team and the referees, up to 40 individuals, give samples the morning of each game. Results would be available at least an hour before game time.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS